Bani Mufleh Files - Episode 1
He was arrested three times without charge. He came out unable to walk or speak clearly. This is who he was before.
Mujahid Bani Mufleh is a Palestinian journalist from Beita in the occupied West Bank. He has been detained by Israeli forces three times, in 2015, 2020 and 2025, each time without charge and without trial. His third detention lasted 14 months. Administrative detention. Secret evidence. No lawyer permitted to examine the basis of his imprisonment. He was released on January 12 2026. Two days later he was admitted to hospital with a severe brain haemorrhage.
Beita · Nablus · Occupied West Bank · Palestinian journalist02 / 06
Palestinian journalist. Father of three. Reporter for Al-Quds and UltraPalestine. Arrested three times. Never charged.
Mujahid Bani Mufleh studied journalism at the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University. He worked for Al-Quds newspaper and UltraPalestine, reporting on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
He was first detained by Israeli forces in January 2015, held for 16 days without charge and released. He was detained again in 2020, again without charge. His third detention began on June 28 2025, when Israeli forces raided his home in Beita. His young son Arab was present and watched as his father was taken.
He told Middle East Eye: "In prison, I kept trying to remember my son Arab's face so I wouldn't be consumed by the faces of those who died behind bars. But I could remember only one image of him. Crying as Israeli soldiers arrested me in our home."
Source: Wikipedia, Mujahid Bani Mufleh · Middle East Eye, June 30 2026, Mujahid Bani Mufleh on record · The New Arab, June 29 2026
Administrative detention · Israeli law · Imprisonment without charge or trial03 / 06
Administrative detention allows Israel to imprison Palestinians without charge, without trial, on the basis of secret evidence that neither the detainee nor their lawyer is permitted to examine.
Administrative detention is a legal mechanism under which Israel holds Palestinians based on classified evidence. Detention orders can be renewed indefinitely. There is no requirement to file charges, present evidence in open court or permit the detainee to know the basis of their imprisonment.
Bani Mufleh's detention was extended on December 25 2025, the very day he had been expected to be released, for two additional months. He was ultimately released on January 12 2026 after 14 months. No charges were ever filed.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society stated that Israel has arrested 245 Palestinian journalists since October 2023. At least 84 Palestinians have died in Israeli detention since October 2023, including one child.
Source: Middle East Eye, June 30 2026 · Palestinian Prisoners Society statement, June 24 2026 · Democracy Now, June 25 2026 · Wikipedia, Mujahid Bani Mufleh
Inside · What he described · His own words04 / 06
He described torture, prolonged starvation and medical neglect. He witnessed two prisoners die inside.
Bani Mufleh told The New Arab that during his 14 months in detention he was repeatedly beaten, starved and denied adequate medical care.
He witnessed two fellow prisoners die in custody. One after being gassed inside his cell. A second after spending his final days pleading for a dose of antibiotics. Neither received what they asked for.
He described the hunger in his own words: "During my detention, I learned what real hunger feels like. Waiting for meals that never felt enough, going to sleep with an aching stomach, and waking up with the same feeling. I learned how a simple loaf of bread can become a dream."
Source: Middle East Eye, June 30 2026, Mujahid Bani Mufleh on record · The New Arab, June 29 2026 · Palestinian Information Center, January 15 2026
The pattern · 245 journalists arrested since October 2023 · Named05 / 06
His case is not an exception. The Palestinian Prisoners Society documented it as one of thousands.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society stated on June 24 2026: "Bani Mufleh is not an isolated case, but points to thousands of cases that have faced systematic violations inside Israeli prisons, including torture, starvation, denial of treatment, physical and psychological assaults, in addition to a continuous policy of psychological terror practiced against prisoners around the clock."
The organisation documented hundreds of cases of Palestinian prisoners who emerged from Israeli detention in extremely serious physical and psychological conditions but whose cases were not publicised due to fear and the shock of former prisoners.
245 Palestinian journalists have been arrested since October 2023. At least 84 Palestinians have been documented as dying in Israeli detention in the same period, including one child. Rights groups state the true toll is likely higher.
Source: Palestinian Prisoners Society statement, June 24 2026 · Democracy Now, June 25 2026 · Middle East Monitor, June 24 2026
The question. Not a claim.06 / 06
He entered prison a working journalist and father. What happened to him inside is documented in his own words. What the law permitted to happen to him is on the public record.
Tomorrow: January 14 2026. Two days after his release, he collapsed. The brain haemorrhage. The surgery. The coma. The photograph he posted on June 24 2026. His own words on what he survived. The question that photograph raises about what a detention system is designed to do.
Some stories are buried on purpose. We dig.
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